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WHAT AND WHY
~~~
It occurred to me this morning, during my morning
meditation, that all the commercial and semi-commercial
music showcase websites have this in common: In the artist's
description pages, they always have a section inquiring
about the artist's background regarding musical influences.
I was mulling over what I should have said in one such
section, and concluded I should have given short mention,
then referred the reader back to a page here at my website -
which led me to realize that my website here, didn't have
any such information. So, this page is meant to address
& alleviate that shortcoming.
What influenced the development of my music? The quick and
easy answer, of course, is everyone and everything I've ever
come into contact with, and the absence of everyone and
everything which I didn't come into contact with. However,
that's not really a very descriptive answer, is it? I'll do
better, before this page is finished.
I realized while writing this, that there are two possible
approaches to the subject of my personal history re.
involvement with music, and the results of following those
approaches are quite different from each other; each reveals
details and context which the other would leave unmentioned.
Mulling this over, I found that being comprehensive and
doing both would really be too big for one web page. So, it
will of necessity be provided in two pages instead of one.
This page is meant to be an insight into the development of
my involvement and skills in music from the perspective of
people; i.e., the people are the primary focus of this page,
not the musical equipment or genres. It's those people
(both those listed, and those not), to whom I dedicate this
page.
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MUSICAL INFLUENCES
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First and foremost, is my mother, Frances D. Fordham, who
was recently honored for her achievement in completion of
50 years of service as a professional church organist. Some
of my earliest memories, involve being in the church,
finding ways to keep myself occupied while she practiced the
organ - and, of course, being there and observing what she
was doing, why, and what the results were. It was her
involvement in music, which gave me the chance to toy with
the organ when she was elsewhere (early experience, learning
about the keyboard & scales). It also led to me join the
church choir when I became old enough to do so. I grew up
with a good piano in our home throughout my childhood and
on into adulthood. Although a substantial portion of that
time I ignored that piano and didn't touch it, there were
many occasions when I made use of it.
If pressed to select, I would list the top 3 stylistic
influences on my music from professional musicians as being
(alphabetically) John Lennon, Neil Young, and Frank Zappa.
Beyond those, there's a LONG list of musicians I've mimicked
& learned from - long enough, that it would become a
pointless exercise to even begin to go through the list.
Individuals who've been instrumental (yes, that's a pun) in
the development of my musicianship and style via
personal interactions include:
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Bill Jones
Bill was a musician who lived with his family in a
farmhouse near the north end of Libertyville, IL,
around 1970. He played electric guitar and sang, and
was very good at it. At the time I knew him, he was
trying to put together a band. They practiced in the
barn, there on the property. I list Bill as having
been influential in the development of my music,
because he was the first person to really make me
consider putting out any effort in music; he was
inspirational, in his dedication to his art.
(Wherever you are and whatever you're doing,
thank you, Bill!)
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Brian Swanson
I really didn't know Brian that well,... He was one
of a group of people who hung around together, that
my younger brother was familiar with. (This, also,
around 1970.) He was, a foundational influence on
me, in that when he heard I was interested in
learning bass guitar (having been motivated by
Bill), he actually lent me a rather expensive
fretless bass guitar to practice & learn with.
Although I didn't make very good use of the
opportunity provided by his generosity (didn't even
try to practice it very much), and he eventually
took the bass guitar back, the presence of that
instrument having been there in my daily life during
that time period eventually became a
motivation to try again later.
(So, wherever you are and whatever you're doing,
thank you, Brian!)
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Kate O'Bleness
Kate was a girl I fell in love with around 1975 - my
first true love, if you will,... She motivated me to
try to clean up my act & turn my life into
something beneficial. (I didn't really do very well
at that, but the effort was there.) Kate was always
very supportive of me, and kind when I wasn't making
the grade at whatever I was attempting to accomplish.
When my interests turned toward seeking to learn to
play music, she supported me in that along with
everything else.
It was during that year and a half I was with Kate,
that I bought my first guitar (a cheap Harmony that
warped out of shape within a month or two), bought
my first set of bongos (cheap set, but lasted
several years), and bought an old Cornet from a
garage sale for $20(?). I suspect that it was her
presence and influence, which led me to actually
take Cornet lessons from Faller Music, in Lake
Forest, IL; enough lessons, that I gained the
fundamentals which could be developed into skills if
effort was invested.
Her ongoing support was present in
my life long enough that I developed the habit of
practicing, and came to believe that perhaps I could
actually succeed in making music. The habit of
practicing, and the ability to derive some comfort
from performing music somehow managed to survive
the loss of her presence in my life.
Kate, the Harmony guitar, and the cheap set of
bongos are all long gone; irretrievably swallowed
entire, by the snake of time. However, I still have
that old Cornet. And, yes, I still drag it out
occasionally and tootle a bit with it.
(Wherever your life led you, whatever you've
done, and whatever you're now doing, thank you,
Kate! I pray that you found health, happiness,
success, and fulfillment. And, I'm sorry I couldn't
have been better for you.)
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Andrea Ratzer
Andrea was a friend of Kate's; for a while, her best
friend. Her family was quite well-to-do, living in a
mansion by the lake. She lent me a beautiful
open-hole-style flute, shortly before my contact
with Kate was cut off; a fine, expensive instrument,
which she wasn't playing at that time. I spent many
lonely hours playing that flute in the dark of my
room, after Kate was gone. It's beautiful sounds
comforted me in my loss, for as long as it was there
- until Andrea asked for it back, that is. Her
generosity in lending me that exquisite flute
eventually led me to purchasing a (much lower
quality) flute, later.
(Wherever you are and whatever you're doing,
thank you, Andrea!)
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Garrett Derner
Garrett was a skilled and talented guitar player,
with an extensive repertoire of songs. I don't know
the extent or nature of his musical training, but I
do know that he was quite knowledgeable in music
theory. Garrett was also a good friend. He owned a
beautiful, rather old, Gibson hollow-body electric
guitar - a collector's item, which he kept in
perfect repair. I was playing a cheap imitation of
that guitar; an Epiphone hollow-body electric, which
wasn't in very good condition. We spent many hours
practicing guitar together, and I learned much from
him. I consider him to have been my first
instructor, in the art of playing guitar. There
came a time when his precious instrument was stolen
from him, and his heart was broken at the loss. He
quit playing guitar completely, turned his attention
to other, more traditional pursuits, and we lost
contact.
Many years have passed, since I last saw and/or
talked with him. Someone told me last year, that
he'd heard that Garrett is now involved with a Polka
band. If it were anyone else, I'd consider that
weird; his primary musical passions during practice
used to be folk, rock, and blues. However, this is
about Garrett - and, my genius friend Garrett always
danced to his own drummer. I can only believe, that
if he's adopted a Polka band, and is playing in that
band, that he's doing it skillfully, and with great
spirit. Such, was Garrett.
(Wherever you are and whatever you're doing,
thank you, Garrett! I hope that you've found the
peace of mind and happiness you deserve.)
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Rich Simmel
Rich was friend of mine, who was an utterly
dedicated drummer. He chose his stage name to be,
"Fisherman Rich", because he had a love
for and devotion to the art of fishing which almost
rivalled his love for and devotion to the art of
drumming - he was very good at both. Rich and
I practiced endless hours together, in my mother's
garage in Highland Park, IL. Sometimes, Garrett
was there, too! In fact, there were many more richly
satisfying hours, practicing music at the dining
table in my mother's house, involving both Rich and
Garrett. (We made a fairly good musical trio.) Rich
also played harmonica well enough for stage
performances, and to be considered one of the best
players around (in the crowd of musicians I was
familiar with during that time of my life.)
Rich and I lost contact with each other as time
passed: He joined a blues band, in Chicago, IL. I
got married. He got married. He got divorced &
moved out of state. He got married again, and had a
son. I got divorced & went homeless. I got
married again, and had a child. He got divorced
again, and persecuted into losing all contact with
his son. I got divorced, persecuted, and ended up
being driven into exile in MI - losing all contact
with my precious daughter. Last year, however, I
re-established contact with Rich. Apparently, he's
become a bit of a local legend with his harmonicas,
has a mobile home full of animals and instruments,
conducts professional testing of fishing equipment,
and has added both bongos-playing and bass guitar
playing to his list of musical skills. I intend to
visit him there, in Omro, WI, at the earliest
opportunity I can manage.
(Thank you for your friendship, Rich!)
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Tom Markoff
Tom was a mystery man; frequently accessible, but
rarely fully understood. He kept his personal
history tightly under wraps. He was an accomplished,
multi-talented musician and songwriter. I did learn,
(eventually), that he'd spent some time playing at
the professional level in a national venue,... He
wouldn't say more, though, and share the details. We
had several jam sessions together. He was an
influence that kept me motivated during a time when
I might have lost interest. Shortly after Tom got
married, I entered into my first bad marriage. Our
level of contact diminished, and was never fully
re-established. During one of my last visits with
him, he played for me a tape of music he'd created;
writing all lyrics and playing all instruments for
all the songs on the tape. I was dazzled, and tried
to influence him to seek publishing of it. He
wouldn't do it, though. Now, it's been several years
since I last saw him, and can only hope that he's
healthy and happy.
(Wherever you are and whatever you're doing,
thank you, Tom!)
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James Short
Jim was a skilled and talented guitar player -
another of those I knew, with an extensive
repertoire of songs. Jim was the proud owner of a
beautiful, old, Gibson "SG" in excellent
condition - a collector's item which he played on an
almost-daily basis. Jim was every bit as devoted to
the art of guitar playing, as Rich was to the art of
drumming; that is to say, utterly. He was trained to
play the blues in Detroit, MI; that study, being
learned at the same time as undergoing an
apprenticeship for repairing auto motors with (I
think) General Motors.
Jim & I spent many hours practicing music
together; him, playing his Gibson "SG",
and me, playing a Gibson "Les Paul" which
I'd constructed from a kit. That Les Paul never
did get pickups fully installed and
functional,... I'd burnt out the control pots that
came in the kit, via my less-than-competent
soldering skills, and was amplifying the guitar by
means of a "Bill Lawrence" acoustic guitar
pickup. It was held in place below the strings, in
the place of the forward pickup, on top of the
un-filled hole in the guitar body, by means of
rubber bands wrapped around it and hooked onto a
screw-in hook inside the hole where the regular
pickup should have been. Volume and tone were
controlled strictly by adjusting the controls on the
amp. This worked, though - and, was good enough that
Jim and I practiced music many hours together.
During my second marriage, the contact between Jim
and I diminished to almost nonexistence. He was
burning the candle at both ends, trying to be
owner/operator of two businesses which were 50 miles
apart, in association with his younger brother. I
was struggling to keep my wife mentally and
emotionally stable (a losing battle), and support
the family (a imperceptibly slow, continuous
improvement of conditions). When disaster struck and
his health broke, he ended up homeless and
eventually had to sell his precious Gibson
"SG" for money to survive on (food, etc.).
My personal disaster, losing my family, drove me to
be far, far away - almost 400 miles from where I can
be of any assistance to him. Instances of contact
between us are now few and far between - but, I
still consider him to be my very close friend. The
last time I saw him, he'd begun a series of
professional quality vocal lessons for singing, and
seemed to be very much "on the mend".
(Thank you for your support and friendship, when
all others had either abandoned me or joined the
conspiracy to wrongfully persecute me, Jim! You are
not forgotten, despite the many miles between
us!)
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Please note, that with the exception of Kate O'Bleness
(who was an immensely talented artist), and Brian
Swanson (who I didn't really know that well), every
person on my list may be considered to be documented as
having been a maestro amateur, or a semi-pro. Also: The
sequence which I've used in the creation of my list
here, is intended to be a rough approximation of the
timing of their involvement in my life and music -
not a ranking of their talents, skills,
character, or importance.
The list is not meant to be all-inclusive. There are
people who I've left out for various reasons, and others
whom I've simply forgotten. The ones on the list are
just the ones who managed to get noticed before the
poorly-defined, vague line limiting the boundary of the
list was drawn; i.e., when I decided I'd written enough.
To any who feel they should have been on the list, but
don't find themselves mentioned there: Please accept my
sincere apologies for the oversight. Let me know; we'll
discuss it.
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IN CONCLUSION
I hope you've enjoyed my little stories about the
development of my music! Any further additions re. this
(maybe, even, photos?) will be posted onto this page as
& when they occur.
~~~
Scruffy Eagle
~~~
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